reikutohno t1_j7tpsee wrote
“We’re in what?” My voice echoed across the room.
“We’re in debt, my liege,” the man said despite his shaking. He was probably afraid of me. Just being in my presence is enough to send anyone into despair. After all, with their heroes slain in front of their eyes, there was no hope of going against me.
“Did the previous king not have entire warehouses of gold and jewelry?”
“Yes, my liege.”
“Why don’t you use those?”
“Ah… those were personal treasures so we really couldn’t—”
“Well, I don’t really couldn’t give a shit, can I?” I said and shook my head. That bastard spent the kingdom’s money for his own treasures. “Are they enough to pay off the debt?”
“Certainly, my liege.”
“Then make it so,” I grumbled and looked over the documents. “The tax is too damn high… and skewed. Lower the tax to 20% until the people can recover.”
The fight with the kingdom’s heroes did take a toll in some parts of the land. Some construction was being done in those places.
“And apply that to the nobles as well. If anyone wishes to complain about it,” I paused and snapped my fingers. A summoning circle appeared behind the official and a headless armor was summoned. Black flames emanated from it. It was very intimidating.
I smirked and continued, “they can tell it to this instead. Bring it with you.”
“Yes, my liege.” The man bowed and walked away. The living black flame armor followed suit.
‘Oh, thank goodness,” the official thought. ‘This summoned knight was as strong as the sword saint. There’s no way the nobles would disagree. Then again, most of the corrupt ones have been executed.’
“General,” I turned to the former captain of the knights. I killed off all the generals when they opposed me. He was the only one left. He was quite capable too. “Any news of the empire?”
“None, my lord. They are afraid of your power.”
“As they should.” Indeed. That made me feel great. The general was nervous but that was expected. It is impressive he can stand in my presence.
‘The empire actually wanted to send support to rid the kingdom of the evil sorcerer. But thankfully, my men and I were able to convince them otherwise. We’ll just keep feeding them false information. Soon, the kingdom will recover,’ the General thought.
A herald announced the arrival of an envoy from the Theocracy. Another one of the world's powers.
“Ho? Have you come to negotiate my surrender or charge me for my crimes?”
“My lord, we wish to offer you an allegiance,” the envoy knelt and bowed.
“An allegiance? AN ALLEGIANCE?!” I howled. The air became heavy and people felt as if a blade was placed on their necks.
“I-I shall correct myself. The Theocracy will serve under the kingdom.”
“That’s more like it. Now, leave.” I stopped and thought for a bit. “Ah, take this and go. A bit of a reward for knowing your place.”
One of the servants brought a staff. I really didn’t need it. It was a trash staff and the materials were subpar.
“Thank you for your mercy,” the envoy took it and left. ‘The Saint Staff! After all these years, we finally recover it from the clutches of that bastard king. Does he not know its value? No, it simply is not worth his time.’
“My liege, the offerings have arrived.” A servant announced.
“Good, have them prepared and sent to my chambers.”
I smirked as I sat upon the throne that I took for himself. Beside me, the queen shivered from those words.
“Don’t worry,” I cackled. “You’re still my favorite.”
‘What a relief,’ she thought. ‘I thought he was going to throw me away. I thought my days were numbered. I was at the age where my husband would look for a younger wife. I would have probably been executed under false charges.’
“This is definitely it. All the power, the riches, and the women. People serve me lest they lose their heads. Ah, this is all worth it.”
The servant heaved a sigh. ‘The previous king would have killed me for speaking without permission. May those nobles' daughters forgive me for calling them offerings. Then again, they are after his bloodline and powerful magic...’
There was nothing they could do. I will keep ruling over this place. This kingdom is mine. I made sure to implement some things to deal with the aftermath of the battle. Reparations to the affected locations. Of course, I need to make sure that the citizens working would be paid and fed.
Man, did I really do all this damage? This kingdom was barely standing. Well, whatever. I already prepared for the worst case. I even had a plan if I ended up razing the kingdom to the ground. The people made way for me quite easily. There was barely any resistance.
There were the heroes, some knight squadrons, the king, and some nobles. But aside that, it was easy to take over.
It’s obviously thanks to my power.
“Prepare for a celebration. In three days, we shall have feasts all over the kingdom. Make sure every citizen is fed well,” I got up, grinning at how I’ll show them my power. They will fear and cower under me. “Yes, yes, a couple of dragons should be enough for that. General, prepare some butchers. I will be returning tonight after my hunt.”
“Y-yes, my lord.”
‘Did he just say he was going to hunt dragons?’ FOR FOOD?!' The general, the queen, and every servant in the room thought.
heyangelyouthesexy t1_j7ui9xg wrote
Definitely getting some overlord vibes here
Falling--TearofStone t1_j7whxox wrote
Really does, although I also get a little bit of Veigar from the wicked attitude but good actions (only a little bit, he’s still a bastard unlike Veigar)
EDIT: reading it back this is particularly true in the end where he will “show them [his] power” by killing a powerful being (dragon here, evil wizard for Veigar) but it actually does good (feeding them here, liberating from evil for Veigar) also it is nice that hunting is very associated with kings so where normally they do it for high-class fun, here it’s altruistic-ish
Pokerfakes t1_j86mzz4 wrote
You mean the Evil Overlord List? (Beware, TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life.)
InfinityTheW0lf t1_j7wfnwn wrote
Love that the sorcerer is still a megalomaniacal, evil bastard, and still a decent ruler at the same time. Nnice job!
momdrak53 t1_j7va8ff wrote
Did the Queen fall before or after the villian took over?
reikutohno t1_j7x63yn wrote
Now I'm tempted to write a bit about the Queen when the villain took over. Lol.
Give me a while. I have a seminar to go to this morning. 😅
reikutohno t1_j7ymygu wrote
Before the Fall: The Gates Open
[I am more used to writing in the third person. I had to go back and edit some stuff previously since the writing perspective got mixed. This will take several posts most likely.]
The sorcerer Grimzon approached the gates. Not by foot but by a grand open carriage. To make his entrance more regal, he had armored bicorns pulling the carriage. Around him were squads of pegasi, each mounted by an armored maiden.
The guard captain’s feet quivered upon seeing the approaching storm. It was his duty to protect the citizens of the kingdom. He must keep the enemy at bay even at the cost of his life.
Still, there was no way they could stop this man. Word had spread that he had gone through every major city before the capital. Those that fought against him were all wiped out. The stories seemed exaggerated. But he had no choice but to believe it.
As the carriage stopped in front of the gates, Grimzon’s voice boomed. “I want the gates open within a minute. Do so and I shall spare the lives of all who would submit. Those who wish to oppose me shall be removed from existence.”
The guard captain had a minute to decide. He kept trying to rack his brain of a solution but there was none. If he kept the gate shut, they would all perish. If they opened the gates, they would be traitors and executed.
That is, if the kingdom could even defeat the grand sorcerer.
“If… if is good.”
He gathered up his courage and ordered his men to open the gates. He claimed that he will take all responsibility. He told them that they should claim he betrayed the kingdom and opened the gate on his own.
His subordinates felt the intent of their captain. So they banded together and opened the gates on their own. As a unit, they marched out of the gate… and threw down their weapons. They all went down on one knee and lowered their heads to their foe.
“My lord. My life will be yours to use,” the guard captain spoke. “All I plead is that you spare my subordinates and our families.”
In the next moment, Grimzon stood right in front of the squad. “Now that’s more like it! Yes, you are a smart one. The weak simply must obey the strong, must they not?”
“Y-yes, my lord.”
“Good, good. Since your squad has been the first to realize my greatness, I shall grant you mercy.” Grimzon started to walk towards the open gate. He waved his hand and signaled to the pegasi riders.
“These people are now my subjects. Protect them and their families,” he declared.
The guard captain could only sigh in relief.
“Raise your heads. Stand up and gather your families. The valkyries are on your side.” With those words, Grimzon continued his way into the kingdom.
“M-my lord. If I may ask,” the guard captain tried to call out.
Grimzon stopped and the air felt heavy.
The guard captain gulped. He didn’t make a mistake did he? Most nobles would say ‘how dare you speak to me’ if they were called out like that.
“You may speak.”
“What happened to the knights from the other cities?” The guard captain asked. He might seem like he was concerned but he wasn’t. He just wanted to know. As far as he knew, those ‘knights’ were just greedy tax collectors. They abused their position and demanded outrageous things from the citizens.
“I am a man of my word. Those that opposed me were reduced to nothing but dust. I have not harmed the civilians who would bow their heads.”
“T-thank you, my lord.” The guard captain lowered his head once again. He can still live to see his family.
“You all should be,” Grimzon smugly proclaimed. He was thinking how stupid it would be to just wipe everyone out. How can he take over the kingdom if he didn’t have subjects to serve him? In his mind, the castle is only as good as the people that maintain it.
It seems that his proclamation was loud enough for most of the citizens to hear. As he swaggered onto the main street, the people lowered their heads. It was mainly out of fear. After all, there was nothing they could do against a powerful grand sorcerer.
“Yes. This is how it should be after all.” He felt good. And they should feel honored to serve him.
So he weaved a simple spell. With every step, a wave of magic emanated from him. A super basic (according to him) series of spells that would invigorate people. His goal was to make people understand that serving him was an honor. What he did not intend was how each healing wave was actually curing the citizens of their health issues.
reikutohno t1_j8c2hgn wrote
Beginning of the Fall: The Kingdom's Hero
This is just something I kept thinking about so this may seem random. I'll probably end this with another post about the Queen.
There was little to no resistance as he strolled his way in. The guard captain did his best. He had his men go around the residential district. They assured the citizens that no harm will come to them.
Not that any of them would even want to do anything. Those that had come up felt the healing pulse of magic wash over them. They no longer felt sickly. A lot of them had injuries from being overworked. They were healed within moments.
An elderly shopkeeper came out. He had been having trouble with his back for a while. He felt spry. He still felt his age but he was sure he could go on for a few more years.
This old man saw Grimzon and respectfully bowed his head. Seeing that, the other citizens started to do the same.
“Good,” he muttered to himself as he neared the nobles’ district. It was here that there was some form of resistance. Some of the guards were hesitant. They didn’t want to go against the sorcerer. But the noble behind them was barking out orders.
‘If I kill him,’ he thought. ‘It will be an achievement.’
“Oh? There are fools who still don’t know their place?” Grimzon stopped in front of the guards.
“Do you know who you’re talking to?” The noble barked.
“No.”
“I’m—”
“Dead,” he cut him off. Along with his head. The wind blade was fast and precise. It was also chantless, a feat most court mages desire.
As the noble’s head rolled, the guards started to part. They threw down their weapons and lowered their heads.
Little to no resistance. Barely an inconvenience.
A couple more foolish nobles later, and he was near the royal residence. Why did he walk, you ask? To show that he can simply stroll into the kingdom. That those who would dare go against him would be put down without mercy. Plus, he wanted to show the people who exactly it was they were dealing with.
“Halt!” There was one brave enough to ignore their foolishness.
“Ah, the ‘hero’, was it?” Grimzon sneered. “More like a lapdog, honestly.”
He flicked his wrist and sent an earthen spike towards the hero. They blocked it easily with their shield.
“I’ve heard about your ability,” he said. “I think you’re wasting your potential.”
This hero had the ability to enchant items with ‘words’. From what he heard, they were famous for their combat ability. They were known for countering their opponents. They had shields that ‘block everything’ and weapons that ‘can’t be blocked’.
They were also notorious for shaming all the warriors of the kingdom. They kept proving themselves to be the strongest. They even had a contest with some of the smiths. They enchanted a weapon as ‘stronger than any sword’ and that was it.
The king made use of them to cut the budget of the equipment. Who knows where that extra funds went. But once that enchantment runs out, it’s just useless scrap. That was how he dealt with those knights. Just... enchantment removal.
“You have no idea what I can do,” the hero said smugly.
“Well, neither could you,” Grimzon chuckled.
At that moment, the earth spike hit the hero’s side.
“You can block but only when and where you know it’s coming from.”
Agitated, the hero summoned more shields that spun all around them. Grimzon crashed down a lightning bolt on the hero. After that, he kept sending jabs at where there were openings.
Eventually, the hero holed up in a ball made out of shields. There were spears protruding from them. It was supposed to be the combination. Unbreakable shield. Unstoppable spear.
Feeling victory in their enclosed space, they started rolling towards the sorcerer.
Grimzon stopped it with but a hand. (Well, physical enhancement spells helped.) Wind blades snapped off the spears.
“Yeah. The shields are not unstoppable and the spears are not unbreakable,” he laughed and shook his head.
“[Agneyastra.]”
Scorching hot flames surrounded the lump of shields. The spears started to melt and seal off the ball of metal.
Grimzon could sense that the hero was still alive. They probably enchanted themselves with the ability to ‘survive anything’. He had his suspicions that the skill was not limited to items. He wondered if the disappearances of maidens had something to do with this. Every time the hero visited a village, one or two young girls would end up missing.
“Well, enjoy your trip.” A bit of anti-gravity magic made it easy to send the lump of metal flying. It should reach one of the suns in time.
Even if they survived, the hero would stop thinking eventually.
reikutohno t1_j8gow5i wrote
Falling Head over Heels: The Queen and the Grand Sorcerer
Grimzon continued his way towards the castle. He marched alone.
His army of valkyries and other summoned beings were only securing the perimeter. Given that this was the capital of the kingdom, that took a lot of manpower. There were all sorts. There were beasts like dire wolves. But there were also undead like dullahans.
As if to show dominance, none of them accompanied him. As he entered the halls, he was greeted with several maidens.
“Ah, I figured this was the case,” he nodded. Unlike the previous people he encountered, these women had clouded eyes. Despite that, the amount of murderous intent directed at him was intense.
He stepped to the side as one haphazardly charged at him with a dagger. He placed a hand on her head. The sound of shattering glass echoed. The woman lost consciousness and fell on the ground. He would have caught her but he had to leap into the air. Arrows struck right where his feet were. Thankfully, it didn’t hit the other person but still. He had a lot of enchantments to dispel.
He kicked down the doors to the throne room. The guards were more than willing to open it but he was a bit frustrated. He had left a lot of unconscious women in his wake. He did his best not to harm them. Their minds were already muddled enough with the hero’s enchanting.
He was annoyed because he thought that such things were lowly acts. One should subjugate based on power. And he was going to show them what true power is.
As he walked into the throne room, he saw the queen guarding the king. Just like the others, she had clouded eyes.
He held his hand up to set up a ward. In that moment, countless ice needles rained down on him.
“Impressive,” he muttered.
The queen started chanting a spell. He recognized that spell. It was one of the strongest ice spells he knew.
“Too slow,” muttered and disappeared from sight. He reappeared in front of the queen and placed his palm on her chest. A concussive blast of air shot out and knocked the wind out of her, canceling the chant.
As she fell on her knees, she looked up at him. He grabbed her by the chin. His lips curved into a grin. She had this much talent. She had more room for growth too. Yes. What better way to completely usurp the throne than to claim the queen as well, he thought.
“I like you. You’re mine now,” he declared. As the sound of shattering glass echoed, the cloudiness faded from her eyes.
The frightening thing about that enchantment was beyond what Grimzon thought. The queen knew what her body was doing. But she had been unable to stop herself. She can only watch as she was forced to obey orders. The same could be said for those other maidens.
With the atrocities she committed, she wanted to atone. She wanted to beg to be killed.
“I…” She tried to speak but he placed his finger on her lips.
“I do not accept objections. You belong to me now.”
For some reason, that gesture made her cheeks flushed. It was a show of power. Yet those hands felt gentle. Her knees weakened and she could not get up.
“Tch,” the king clicked his tongue as he slowly got up from the throne. “A shame. I’ve yet to taste her. What a useless bitch…”
The king has had several queens. A lot of them have died due to ‘sickness’ or an ‘unfortunate accident’. People were getting suspicious with some of the maidens being called to the castle. The clueless ones would think nothing of it when they see the maidens alive and well. They were unaware of the enchantments and mind muddling.
The king himself looked intimidating. He was once a famous warrior. He had a lot of anti-magic accessories so he was confident. He even had the ‘will never die’ enchantment.
“[Niflheim]” Grimzon snapped his fingers. The queen would have taken a few seconds to complete the chant. He did it with just a word.
The king froze and felt his body as solid as ice. One by one, the accessories fell from his person. Unable to handle that much magic power, they shattered.
“[Yggdrasil]” Grimzon pointed at the king with a malicious grin. Slowly, roots started to sprout from under. They wrapped around the king’s legs and spread until they covered everything but his head.
Grimzon hummed a tune as he walked to the king and took the crown off his head.
“Letting you die would be a disservice. Not when I have a perfect specimen as a renewable source of energy.”
The roots of [Yggdrasil] drained people of their life force. This was converted into all kinds of energy to power up a lot of things. The downside was that it kills the victims over time. He couldn’t let this opportunity slip.
The king’s expression distorted into that of pain and despair. Slowly, the roots pulled him into the ground.
The grand sorcerer walked up to the empty throne. He sat upon it, and placed the crown on his head.
“Come,” he motioned for the queen.
At this point, she was still on her knees, completely dumbfounded by what happened. She put strength onto her legs and slowly got up. As made her way to her throne, he raised his hand.
“No, here.” He crossed his legs and motioned to his lap.
The queen hesitated slightly before doing as told. As she sat across his lap, he wrapped arm around her waist. He leaned back and placed his elbow on the arm of the throne.
As he leaned his jaw on his fist, he remarked.
“Honestly, that was pretty fucking easy.”
Now he can enjoy all the money, women, and leisures that he wanted. But first he needed to make sure this kingdom can sustain itself enough for him to savor those.
[Well, that should conclude with that, I guess. 😅]
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